Why do some trees come into leaf faster then the trees beside them? In a whole row of trees, why does it get to be the first to put on it's lush summer robes? Does it happen to sit on a patch of particularly rich and/or moist soil? Do the air currents flow a certain way, that bring warmth to this tree and not the others? Now, does this special tree also lose it's leaves faster come fall, is that the price of it's early flamboyance?
That brings us to fall colors! Why do some trees turn before the trees beside them? One tree stands naked first, is it drier, colder, malnourished? Why does one tree of the same species blush red, while another yellows, or turns orange at the cooling assaults? And yet some, some stay green untill the leaves drop, crisp, from the branches?
How is it that some years, the fall season is full of fuchsia to rich crimson, the next an array of yellows ranging from soft to burnt shades? What happened one year to the next, worse thunderstorms, extra caterpillars, or fewer worms? Was the first frost too early, or maybe too late? Was there more pollution, less rain or higher temperatures? Had the spring been overly cold, or wet, had the snow stayed to long?
What secrets do you keep, hidden in your wardrobe, you people of the forest
I guess we'll never know.
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